Service providers and device manufacturers (e.g., wireless, cellular, etc.) are continually challenged to deliver value and convenience to consumers by, for example, providing compelling network services. This often means providing high data rates achieved within current bandwidths by adopting higher order modulation schemes such as high order Quadrature amplitude Modulation (QAM) constellations. Furthermore, most modern communication systems use Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) modulation. Phase noise caused by oscillators and analogue-to-digital converters in a transmitter-receiver chain leads to significant loss of performance in OFDM systems employing high order modulations.
Phase noise has two main effects on OFDM-communication systems: (1) the introduction of common phase error to OFDM data subcarriers, and (2) the injection of inter-carrier-interference.
Conventional phase noise mitigation methods often implemented in OFDM devices account for only the common phase error discussed above. But, severe phase noise distortions that give rise to inter-carrier-interference often render such conventional phase noise mitigation methods insufficient.